Location: Sweden
Salwan Momika, the Iraqi refugee who sparked global fury by burning copies of the Quran in Sweden, met a violent end when he was shot dead in his apartment on January 29th—while live-streaming on TikTok. His provocative acts, including stomping on the Quran, wrapping it in bacon, and setting its pages ablaze, triggered mass protests, diplomatic crises, and even attacks on Swedish embassies. Now, his murder has sent shockwaves through Sweden, with Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson warning, “There is obviously a risk that there is a connection to a foreign power.” Deputy Prime Minister Ebba Busch called the assassination “a threat to our free democracy,” as Sweden scrambles to contain growing security concerns. With the nation’s terrorism alert at its second-highest level, and tensions with the Muslim world still simmering, Momika’s death has only deepened the divide over the limits of free speech and the price of provocation.
Location: United Kingdom
British Islamist journalist Roshan Salih, editor of 5Pillars, unleashed a fiery condemnation of Israel in a recent Blood Brothers podcast, declaring that “this is still a state that has to… that cannot exist,” and insisting that its elimination must remain a generational mission for Muslims. Speaking with host Dilly Hussain, Salih blasted Arab nations for normalizing ties with Israel, calling their leaders “secular” and “dictatorial” sellouts who have abandoned the cause. While he claimed opposition doesn’t have to mean war, he was adamant: “There can be no legitimacy for Israel whatsoever.” Hussain eagerly agreed, hoping that “more Arab countries or Muslim countries in general awake to this.” The conversation laid bare an unfiltered Islamist perspective that refuses any path to peace or coexistence with Israel.
Location: United Kingdom
A UK doctor-turned-butchering profiteer, Mohammad Siddiqui, has been sentenced to over five years in prison for carrying out gruesome and reckless circumcisions on young boys using rusty, unsanitized instruments. Despite being struck off by the General Medical Council, the 58-year-old continued his illegal mobile circumcision service, leaving children “screaming” in agony, with at least one rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery. Prosecutor Ben Douglas-Jones KC condemned Siddiqui’s greed, stating he “cut corners” to “maximize profits” at the cost of horrific suffering. Among the grim discoveries in his Toyota was a “circumcision immobilizer” used to forcibly restrain children—a device deemed unacceptable in NHS practice. The National Secular Society slammed the case as further proof that “ritual circumcision is painful, dangerous, medically unnecessary, and irreversible,” with Dr. Alejandro Sanchez insisting that "boys must be protected from ritual circumcision until they are old enough to decide for themselves."
Location: United Kingdom
Axel Rudakubana’s cold-blooded attack on a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport left Britain reeling, as three young girls—seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe, six-year-old Bebe King, and nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar—were murdered in what has been described as an act of "pure evil." Armed with a kitchen knife he purchased on Amazon, the then-17-year-old slashed and stabbed his way through the class, injuring eight more children and two adults. The attack horrified the world and sparked riots that shook Britain. Despite a trail of red flags spanning years, including multiple police encounters, a violent history at school, and his obsession with Adolf Hitler, Genghis Khan, and mass killings, authorities failed to intervene effectively. Chillingly, after his arrest, the teenager bragged about the murders, telling officers he was "glad the children were dead" and had intended to kill all 26 in the room. Although he was found in possession of an al-Qaeda training manual and had attempted to make the deadly poison ricin, police did not classify the massacre as a terrorist attack, citing his lack of allegiance to a specific ideology. The British government has since launched an urgent review into how repeated warnings—including three referrals to Prevent, multiple police visits to his home, and his 2019 expulsion for carrying a knife to school—were ignored. In the wake of the tragedy, the UK has announced stricter online knife sale regulations, and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has promised a full public inquiry into the catastrophic failures that allowed a known danger to become a child killer.
Location: Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia is cracking open the financial floodgates to Mecca and Medina—inviting foreign investors to cash in on Islam’s holiest cities like never before. In a move that blends economic ambition with religious sensitivity, the kingdom will now allow non-Saudis to invest in real estate firms operating in these sacred sites, though non-Muslims remain banned from direct ownership. With Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages pulling in billions annually, Riyadh is betting big on foreign capital to fuel its Vision 2030 agenda and cut its oil dependence. But is this a bold step toward modernization, or a controversial sellout of sacred ground? As Bloomberg reports, “investor bids for the $12bn bond exceeded $30bn,” proving that global financiers are hungry for a stake—whether the faithful approve or not.
